Pipe wrapping machine



Aug. 13, 1935. J. "COLEMAN ET AL PIPE WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Oct. 28, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V ENT 0R5 JAMES COLEMAN FRANK Sin ALL BY 6% X THE I? A TTORNEY Aug. 13, 1935. J. COLEMAN El AL PIPE WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Oct. 28, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 m .m mm .Q km, Rm. w m MN 4 .11 H WWRN R. B1 [1% *N w ,1. mm \N 1111111 flw xw u U MN MN A v Q: kw M W a w ww l 111 U u M I I Q 1.1 1 mm M Q N Q Q m INVENTORS JAMES COLEMAN FeH/VK SWALL BY 0 W THE/2 ATTORNEY Aug. l3, 1935. J. COLEMAN ET AL PIPE WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Oct. 28, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR-5 JAMES (GAE/74A FRANK SWALL J W THE/B ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 13, 1935 I ED-* IE OFFI E-1 .P1PE;wnAPPINe M on1 NE James Coleman, Emeryville,.an'dx Frank Swall, San Franciscp, Califl, assignorsyto- The Parafe. fine Companies, Inc., San Francisco,. Calif acorporation off D'elawar-e f Qur inventionrelates to a pipe wrapping ina- 011 1118 and particularly to a'machine' which appliesastrip of wrapping material to a pipe without theme of fluid adhesives. l l

lt -is-among the objects of our invention to provide a pipewrapping machine embodying improved means for transferring the wrapping "material from supply mus to the pipe during the operation of the machine; so that wrapping process may proceed as a substantially continuous operation. 7 1 Further objects of our invention includethe provision of a comparatively light andcon- ;veniently portable machine, which is manually operable; and which will 'wrap a. protective strip ofmaterial about an installed pipe line. n

Our invention possesses numerous other objects and features of advantage,=isome ofwhich; with the foregoing, will be'set forthin the'following description of our invention. It is] to beunder fstood that we do not limit ourselves to this disclosure of species of our inventionfas we may adopt variant embodimentsthereof within the scope of the claims., I

Referring tothe drawings: j

Figure l'isa side eleva ion of the pipe wrapping machine embodying ourinvention; and Figure 2is an end elevation of the same.

i Figure 3 isdetail view showing aportion of the drivelmechanism taken in a plane indicatedby the arrow3 of Figure 1.

Figure ts; vertical sectional view of portions of the machine taken in aplane indicated by the line 4 of Figure, 1, and shows the wrapping material holding reel in end elevation} n i Figure 5 is a'vertical sectional view of thereel, taken in a plane indicated by the line 55 of F rflf 1 Figure Sis afragmentary'side' elevation of the reel showing an alternatl r construction for'the wrapping material guide means; and l' W Figure 7 islajverticalfsectional viewof the same, taken in a plane indicated byftheline'ljl of Figure 6. V f j} P Broadly stated, the pipe wrapping machine em bodying our invention comprises a framejmounted for movement alongthe pipejtolbe wrapped. "A

reel, adapted to encirclethe pipe, isfj o therframe, and is arranged to hold th 7 material in a coil coaxial with thepipe. fl 'Means, preferably manualy operable, are provided for moving the frame along the pipe androtating the .reel. Guide means for directing the wrappingr'naterial from the reelto the pipe are also provided, so thatasthe reel moves the material is woundbn the pipein ahelical wrapping. It is preferredto journ'alfa supply roll of wrapping material on the frame, and as the wrapping material is pulled off the coil and wrappedpn the pipe additional material is simultaneously peeled off the supply roll and wound on the coil.

I .In greaterdetaihthepipewrapping machine embodying our invention comprises a frame 2 mounted for. movement along the pipe ;on the spaced bevel wheels 3. p The frame is moved along the pipe by a hand crank 4 mountable oneither end of a frame journaled shaft 6'. The crank shaft 6 isoconnected to a main shaft 1 thru the helical gears 8; and the main shaft is in turn connected to. a jcrossshafta'thru the worm gears-l I Achaindriveii connecting thecross shaft 5 with thel forward pipe engaging wheels 3 serves to propel the "frame along the. pipe as the crank 4 i turn d.

Means are provided for holdingthe wrapping 'materialina eon-encircling the pipe. vA'pair of spacedsemi-circular brackets 13 are mounted on the frame 2, and are arranged to extend downwardly. and straddle the. pipe sothat. the semicircular brackets are coaxial with the'pipe. The

cross rods tie the ends of the brackets together.

These brackets provide a journal support for a pairofringgears lfijheld spaced by ,the tierods H; the bracket rollers l8 engage the innerfaces of the gears at spaced points about their circumferences to provide the journal. A pair of spur gears I9,"mounted on.,the main shaft 1, are meshed withlthe ringgears' l6, and serve to rotate the ring gears when the hand crank 4 is turned 7 it The n 'eew. 1- r adap fi o b po i i about a pipe 2'l at any pointin an installed line.

Referringparticularly to Figure 4, ademountable section22. is provided in each ring gear l6.

These demountable sections are substantially equal? in length to the distance betweenthe lower "open ends of the semi-circular journal brackets '13, so .that .the sections maybe dropped out of the mounting. This permits the;assernb1y to be lowered over the pipe, and when the gear sectionsare replaced the pipe is encircled. The 7 sections 22 are provided with thetongues 23 arranged to slide ndwise into' suitable engaging lars' 29, spaced from the sides of the ring gears, provide annular grooves for receiving the hooks.

. Suitable coil springs 3|, connected between the journaled collars 29 and the rod fixed collars 32,

operate to rotate the collars 29 and tension the eccentrically' mounted hooks; thereby holding them securely in" the locked positions. A handle 33 is provided on each of the journaled collars 29 for rotating the collars and loosening the hooksto disengage the latches. a

A reel, arranged coaxial with the pipe, is provided for holding the wrapping material inla coili encircling the pipe. A plurality of rollers- 31' are j-ournaled in the ring gears I 3" between the-tie rods l1. As best illustrated in Figure 4, these' rollers form the reel upon: which. the. wrapping material may be wrapped to form the coil'35. A pair of annular plates 36 are journaled inthe roller grooves. 31,. and. provide the. flanges for the reel. Each-ofthe flange plates 36 has.a.re-

movable section 31" similar 'tothe demountable sections 22 of. the ring gears. The. clamping bolts: 38- passing thru. suitable abutting. brackets 39 serve-to secure-thesections 31" to the complementary portionsof} the flange rings.

Guide means,.pref'erably arranged between. the reel. andthepipe, are provided for guiding. the wrapping.material fromthe reellto the pipe. Referring particularly to Figures 4 and- 5, a pair ;of. guide rollers 41 are. arranged to. transfer the wrapping material fromthe coili'35' to the pipe .21, so. that the material is:d'rawnon the inner side ofthe coil and thence di'rected'to. the pipe at the proper angle. The shafts4'2 of'therollers arepivotally mounted;.one shaft. on one ring gear and theother shaft-on.theotherringf gear,.in the ball and socket joints 43'.

The. free ends.of. the. roller shafts are adjustably mountedonthe. opposite ring gears. A pair of eye boltsv M' are. pivotally' andadjustably mounted onthe ring. gear. in suitable studs 46 pivoted. inthe brackets 41-; the bolt 'nut's 4'8 serving to. holdthe eye bolts in the stud'. The'loop ends of; these bolt's' encircle. the free end of the roller shaftAZandare secured by the nuts 43. By

loosening the nuts. 48: and changing. the length of. the eye bolts the rollers may be adjusted to' a selected.position V An. alternate construction for the guide means isshown in Figures 6' an'dl'T. In this modification ofl our invention. the rollers 41' are replaced bya single conical roller 54'; the mounting of this roller being similar to the. adjustable mounting describeddn connectionwith the rollers M. The

:con ical. shape. of. the guideroller lpe'rmit's the single roller totranSfer the material from the coil1 35. tothe pipe, so that the material is directed tethepipeatthe proper angle. The advantages ofthe. single guide roller over the plurality of rollers arethat it.-involv es alsimpler construction, andithat it maybe more. easily andquickly adjustech Both in the case of. the-plurality of bylindricalrroller-s androfthe single conical roll'er,.a plurality ofiacesareprovid'ed inclined to. the axis of the coil. and: over whichthe material passes to 'eifectzthe proper: directing of the material as it passes to the pipe at a given selected angle. flMea-ns are proyided for holdinga-supply of :wrapp'ing material; Journaled in theupper portions of the frame'2: in theopen bearings 52; is a spindle 53 carr-ying a'pair'of flange plates54. A 18011156: of wrapping material isheld on the spindies betweengtheafiange plates; The, spindle 53 extends parallel with the axis of the pipe, and the supply roll 56 is positioned directly above the reel provided by the plurality of rollers 34, so that the wrapping material may be peeled oil the supply roll and Wound about the reel to form the coil 35. A guide roll 51, mounted on a frame bracket 58, serves to direct the wrapping material on the-reeIQitiiS peel'e'dofi the supply. roll.

Operation: An operator-removesthe demountable sections 22 and 31' of the reel assembly and lowers the machine over the pipe 2| until the frame-supporting rollers 3 rest on the pipe at the point where the wrapping is to begin. The ring gear sections 22 are then slid endwise back into position; and' are-locked by engaging the latch hCok'sLZ'l; the'reel fiange section 31' also being replaced'and'secured by the bolts 38. The assembled unita thus formed provides a reel encircling and coaxial with the pipe.

The operator then places a supply roll 53 of wrappingmaterial on-the spindle 53-. This material may. be any suitablewrapping strip such as aweb of fibrous material saturatedand/or coated with a bituminous-material. The free end of the'materialis peeled offthe supply roll passed over the guide roll 51,. and then. looped. around the reeliprovided by the rollers- 34. The. end; of

the materialis thenthreaded thru-the bottom of the reel,.ever one of the reel'rollers 34 adjacent thefirst guide roller M, and is. passed over the guide rollers and thence given a turnabout the pipe and-secured by any: suitable. means, 7

Y The-machine is now ready for operation and the operator starts turningthehandle 4. Asa

result, the frame is-moved along the. pipe, and d the ring gears I6 including the reel are rotated aboutthepipe. This causes -.thereeland conse quently the guide rolls 4] to. move relative to the pipe witha: combined rotary and longitudinal motion. Since the reeLandsupply roll are-both mounted .on the frame 1 2 their relative movement is merely one of pure rotation, and the wrapping material is peeled off the roll and wound on the reel to form the coil 35. d

As the reel rotates and simultaneously moves along the pipe the guiderollersdl pullthe wrapping material outfrom the bottom of thecoil 35. Since the coilis heldby. the freely journaled reel rollers-34 the coil may easily sliparoundthe reel, thus permitting the inner layer to be. readily pulled out. The wrapping material is appliedto the pipe in a helical wrapping with the turns overlapping-toform atight covering The angular positionofthe guide rollers. 4] depends upon the pipe.

The rate at which the wrapping material is transferred from: the supply rollto the reel is greater than the rate atwhich it. is vbeing applierl to the pipe. Consequently, there will become. a time during-the wrapping process when .the' reel is completely filled; Atrthis-time the operation of the machine is momentarily stopped and the material cut between the .reel and the supply roll; the-end of the strip beingsecured on the next layer-"of the coilby. asuitable adhesive. After this brief. interruptionthe wrapping may becontinued until the. reel is empty, at which timethe fr-ee endof the strip may be spliced with the end. from the supply roll.v The splicing. operationrequires but afew minutes and when it is are comparatively few, and inthemselVesi'nvolVe only short lapses of time, the wrapping is carried on as a substantially continuous operation.

The pipe wrapping machine embodying our invention is of comparatively light weight and is conveniently portable. This factor is of considerable importance in installed pipe line machines where the wrapping is carried on in the field. Furthermore, the machine is small and does not require an unduly large trench about the pipe for its operation.

We claim:

1. A pipe wrapping machine comprising means for holding a supply roll of wrapping material, means for holding the wrapping material in a coil encircling the pipe, means for rotating the holda ing means to transfer the wrapping material from the supply roll to the coil and simultaneously transfer the wrapping material from the coil to the pipe, and means for moving the holding means along the pipe. 7

2. A pipe wrapping machine comprising means for holding a supply roll of wrapping material,

means for holding the wrapping material in a coil encircling and coaxial with the pipe, means for rotating the holding means to transfer the wrapping material from the supply roll to the coil and simultaneously transfer the wrapping material from the coil to the pipe, and means for moving the holding means along the pipe.

3. A pipe wrapping machine comprising means for holding a supply roll of wrapping material,v

means for holding the wrapping material in a coil encircling the pipe, and means for moving the holding means with a combined rotary and longitudinal motion to transfer the wrapping material from the supply roll to the coil and simultaneously transfer the wrapping material from the coil to the pipe.

4. A pipe wrapping machine comprising a frame mounted for movement along the pipe, a supply roll of wrapping material journaled on the frame, a reel journaled on the frame and adapted to encircle the pipe for holding the wrapping material in a coil coaxial with the pipe, and means for moving the frame along 'the pipe and rotate ing the reel to transfer the wrapping material from the supply roll to the coil and simultaneously transfer the wrapping material from the coil to the pipe.

5. A pipe wrapping machine comprising a rotor for holding the wrapping material in a coil encircling and spaced from the pipe, a guide roller in the space between the coil and pipe and angularly disposed relative to the latter for directing the material from the inside of the coil to the pipe, means on the rotor for pivotally supporting one end of the roller, and adjustable means on the rotor for supporting the other end of the roller to hold the latter in a selected angular position relative to the pipe;

6. A pipe wrapping machine comprising a rotor for holding the wrapping material in a coil encircling and spaced from the pipe, a guide roller in the space between the coil and pipe and angularly disposed relative to the latter for directing the material from the inside of the coil to the pipe, means on the rotor for pivotally supporting one end of the roller, a pair of angularly disposed legs mounted on the rotor for supporting the other end of said roller, and means adjustable to vary the relative lengths of said legs for altering the angular position of the roller relative to the pipe. 7

7. A pipe wrapping machine comprising a frame mounted to ride on the pipe as a track, a reel journaled on the frame and adapted to surround the pipe for holding the wrapping material in a coil coil encircling the pipe, a second reel journaled on the frame for holding a supply roll of the wrapping material, means for rotating the pipe encirguide roller interposed between the latter reel and the pipe for directing the wrapping material from the coil to the pipe.

9. A pipe wrapping machine comprising a frame mounted for movement along the pipe as a track, a reel on the frame and surrounding the pipe for holding the wrapping material-in a coil encircling the pipe, and means mounting a roll of wrapping material on the frame for continuously supplying material to said coil.

10. A pipe wrapping machine comprising a frame mounted for movement along the pipe as a track, means for moving the frame along the pipe, a reel on the frame and surrounding the pipe for holding the wrapping material in a coil en-v circling the pipe, and means mounting a roll of wrapping material on the frame for continuously 

